Nevertheless, onward we go. Delis are on the upswing, thank you pastrami gods, and On Rye is riding it. They’ve got it going on, aesthetically, as per this image on their website (the one below), repeated in wallpaper at their brick-n-mortar.

First thought: Nice, right? Followed closely by: I wonder who made those sandwiches? So dope.

Very cool location, behind the Verizon Center and north, near to Chinablock. Pretty Penny Street but still lots of hopping spots available.

You know you’ve really made it when…

the City Paper gives you enough ink to wrap a Reuben.

First time restaurant owner Ilyse Fishman Lerner grew up in Boca Raton, Florida—home of grandparents and Jewish delis. “I got my deli education down there,” she says. But it took a while for Fishman to return to her deli-loving roots. The 31-year-old spent much of her professional career as a corporate lawyer before making the leap to the hospitality industry. Read on here.

Swanky, yeah? #notmygranddadsdeli #andthatsok

Keeping those restaurant consultants, designers and architects in business. Not a trickle, mind you, a steady stream here in DC, and that’s a good thing. On Rye will get worn in, one hopes. Corners rubbed soft, corned beef aroma rubbed in. Can our new places, so polished and planned, fill the shoes of those sandwich emporiums gone before? Time will tell. Persistence, patience and pastrami. Counting on the three p’s.

Smoked and Stacked has a brilliant breakfast sandwich called, confoundedly, The New Yorker. Geez I hope it has a counterpart up north named The Washingtonian. Pastrami, fried egg, comte and hot pepper jelly on milk bread got scarfed while I waited for the official sandwich. That New Yorker sure makes a mess.

Marjorie is in the house!

MARJORIE MEEK-BRADLEY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TIN SHOP, IS EXCITED TO BRING THE FIRST SMOKED & STACKED TO THE SHAW NEIGHBORHOOD OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

MARJORIE, A CALIFORNIA NATIVE, HAS LIVED ACROSS THE U.S. AND SETTED IN D.C. IN 2009. WHILE IN D.C., SHE HAS WORKED IN NOTABLE RESTAURANTS SUCH AS ZAYTINYA AND GRAFFIATO BEFORE BECOMING THE EXECUTIVE CHEF AT RIPPLE AND ROOFERS UNION. AS A JAMES BEARD NOMINATED CHEF AND TOP CHEF SEASON 13 FINALIST, MARJORIE FELT THAT D.C. HAD A HOLE WHEN IT CAME TO BREAKFAST SANDWICHES AND PASTRAMI, BOTH OF WHICH SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH WHILE LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY.

SMOKED & STACKED IS HERE TO FILL THAT GAP — SPECIALIZING IN HOUSE-CURED PASTRAMI AND BREAKFAST SANDWICHES SERVED ON MILK BREAD.

What was I saying about keeping those architects, planners and designers in business? Dang these newcomers are savvy. Textures, timing, tones. High tone. Stain and distress me impressed.

Coached and Spaded, I say.

Evocative. Smoke and stacks, no question. Soot is not so appetizing to me, but still, the image is chic in a rust belt kinda way. I go for this stuff – hooked, lined and sinked.

Load em up, head em out. All the stuff on its way into the magazine offices.

Take em apart, put em back together better. Better from one view, that is. Not gonna tell you what I did to the tomato, or the bread, or the slaw…

See, not glamorous. Just some sandwiches, reclining on seamless. The talent.

2 responses to “Loca-wich-a-Vore”

That’s so funny, LRoy, and – believe it or not – I had never seen this clip. I went to that movie but think I had to leave when the IV tubes were being pulled out by the nun on guitar. Or something like that! Do I remember correctly??

Welcome to the Lunch Encounter, a blog devoted to the mighty sandwich, with particular focus on American regional specialties.
I am Lisa Cherkasky, a Washington, DC-based food stylist, writer and cook. To see some of my work take a look at my website:http://www.lisacherkasky.com